Tim Baker

I completed a BA Journalism at RMIT while also undertaking a journalism cadetship at the Melbourne Sun. I am about to submit a creative writing PhD at Griffith University. The creative component, Patting The Shark, documents my seven years living with stage four, metastatic prostate cancer, published by Penguin in August 2022. I have recently completed my exegesis, "Towards a new language of cancer", exploring how the ways we write and talk about cancer might relieve or exacerbate the distress of cancer patients. I have a particular focus on writing therapy and bibliotherapy as effective, low-cost, easily deliverable interventions to address the psycho-social needs of people living with cancer. I have also recently accepted a part-time position as a research fellow at Monash University's Prostate Cancer Research Group and teach journalism at Bond University. I have been active as a patient advocate, speaking at cancer conferences, running patient forums through the Australian Prostate Centre, speaking at men's sheds, libraries and writers festivals and as a consumer representative on various research grant applications. I am passionate about promoting a more integrative approach to cancer care and allied health support to mitigate side effects of treatment and maintain quality of life for people living with cancer.